Chris Shanahan: Wine review — Taylors and Wicks Estate

Taylors Clare Valley $14.90–$19

Shiraz 2007
Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
Merlot 2007

Bill Taylor established the family vineyard in the Clare Valley in 1972. Today it’s one of our biggest family makers, producing around 600 thousand cases a year, principally from its 550-hectare Clare vineyard. The reds share an earthy savouriness though I prefer the shiraz of the three. It’s ripe, warm, generous and soft but savoury. The merlot is leaner, though ripe, with firm, mouth-drying tannins that’d fit well with savoury food. The cabernet reveals its varietal character more in its firm structure than in the aroma or flavour – a solid red that’d be tempered well by the protein in a slab or rare red meat.

Wicks Estate Adelaide Hills

Riesling 2008 $18
Sauvignon Blanc $18
Chardonnay $18

These and the reds below are brilliant wines at the price – sourced from a 39-hectare Adelaide Hills vineyard, belonging to Tim and Simon Wicks, and made by Tim Knappstein and Leigh Ratzmer. The riesling’s full flavoured but finely structured and ready to enjoy now. The sauvignon blanc’s light and zesty, revealing mainly the herbal end of the sauv blanc spectrum but with a tropical touch and sufficient mid-palate flesh to make it interesting. The chardonnay’s lovely. It’s partly barrel fermented, giving depth and complexity, but it’s also deliciously fresh and fuller flavoured than the sauvignon blanc.

Wicks Estate Adelaide Hills

Shiraz 2007 $20
Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 $20
Eminence Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon $60

The shiraz is simply beautiful at this price: ripe, fine, supple and….glug, glug, glug, the bottle’s all gone. Say no more. And for just triple the price, step up to Eminence, a wine worthy of its name – deep, complex, sweet-fruited and harmonious. It’s predominantly shiraz, source of all that richness and the soft, velvety texture; the cabernet component sits in the background, giving backbone but not overtly affecting flavour. The cabernet has a leafy character in the aroma and flavour, a result of the cool growing conditions. It’s a decent drop, a bit soft for cabernet, and not in the league of the shiraz.